Bikram Shrestha (R), educational leader at the YMCA Gungahlin Early Learning Centre, accepted the Sustainable Solutions award from Andrew Christophides of the Costa Group, the sponsor of the award. Photo: Lucas Hansen.
The YMCA Gungahlin Early Learning Centre has won the Sustainable Solutions Award at the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program Awards for its innovative and creative methods of recycling, and its closed-loop approach to food and sustainability practices.
Bikram Shrestha, an educational leader at the Gungahlin Early Learning Centre, told Region that they were surprised to win the award as their program only started earlier this year.
“We started this program around February, and all our educators came together to develop this sustainable initiative,” he said.
“It was born from our commitment to promoting environmental awareness and sustainable activities using recycled resources. We wanted to expand our children’s learning by exploring environmental topics like composting, growing food and recycling.”
Creatively recycled cots have become garden beds and fencing. Photo: Supplied.
The centre turned waste into opportunity when they were upgrading the cots in their infant’s room. The old cots have now become garden beds, fencing and even an enclosure to raise young chicks.
Bikram explained that each age group at the centre takes on a different project. Younger children have been learning to grow herbs like parsley, which they can harvest for use in lunches at the centre. Older children participated in hatching eggs and watching the chicks grow into a small flock of chickens (and one rooster, who will soon be rehomed on a local farm).
“Early in the morning, when the children arrive, they feed the chickens some food scraps from the kitchen and the rest goes into the compost bin. That way, we recycle the nutrients for the vegetable gardens.”
The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program was established in Collingwood in 2001 as a way to engage children in growing food. The program has since been rolled out in schools and education centres across Australia. The awards were established in 2024 as a way to celebrate the various ways students and educators engage with growing vegetables, learning about food, advocating for sustainability, and getting their hands dirty along the way.
Stephanie Alexander began her kitchen garden program in a single Collingwood primary school in 2001, and it has since grown across the country. Photo: Lucas Hansen.
Other award categories include The Art of Kitchen Gardening, Flower Power, First Nations Foods and Water Wise Design. The winners from each category receive a prize pack that includes $1000 of further funding for their project, resources like cookbooks and gardening supplies, and a subscription to Organic Gardener Magazine.
Lanyon High School was a finalist in the Down To Earth Category, which recognises programs about soil health. Last year, Namadgi School won the STEM award.
Bikram said that the awards were a nice way to recognise the hard work of the educators and parents who had contributed to setting up the program, and were a boost to continue the program.
“It makes us feel like we want to work harder and contribute more to teaching children about taking care of the environment, and helping our children feel connected to the world.”
To learn more, visit the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program Awards.
